Postby Livelife » Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:00 pm
Well, I'm a Somali atheist, but I can only speak for myself.
Even if Somalia became a functioning, wealthy and civilized country, I still wouldn't have moved to my homeland if it became theocratic (or ruled by religion). I am not only saying so because my safety would be at risk in a theocratic Somalia, but because a theocratic Somalia would not survive for too long. A state that promotes and patronizes a religion, must by definition supress others. It is bound to create conflict, it is bound to create social differences and seclusion, it is bound to create animosity and rivalry, sectarianism, religious persecution etc.
No religious theocracy could form a healthy society. All or many of the above mentioned would occur. It is also apparent in western history, that it also underwent the similar problems we Somalis face today. Heavy influence from religion, religious extremism ruling the country (al shabaab etc). People used to get burned for sorcery in the West. They used to burn people for apostasy, for slandering against God, for studying science or reading critical litterature. Remember that! But then, something suddenly happened. Europe got secularized, whilst Africa and the Middle East remained in superstition and theocracy. Now you can see what that has led to...
So, no I don't think any secularists, humanists, atheists or agnostics would ever consider going back to Somalia, if it became a theocracy. I could also imagine how mich intelligence and and intellectual skills Somalia THEN would be missing out on. Most of the worlds most leading authors, debaters, intellectuals, scientists, philosophers etc are atheists or agnostics. It seems the more you are academically skilled, the higher are the chances that you would see through superstition and religion. I could imagine a Somalia ruled by 10 or 20 bearded men, calling themselves scholars.
I could imagine how people would be controlled with fatwas and rulings. No intellectual growth, no free inquiry, nothing. Sam Harris, a notable intellectual was recently quoted saying: "Spain translates more books into Spanish each year than the entire Arab world has translated into Arabic since the ninth century."
I could imagine a similar intellectual breakdown and darkness in Somalia.
So, to my conclusion: I would never ever ever ever ever step a foot in a theocratic Somalia. My life would loose its meaning. I would become a slave under a man made tyranny. Never ever!
